Archive · 29 Jan 2026
Maharashtra AI Tool for Detecting Bangladeshis Faces Expert Criticism
The Maharashtra government is creating an AI tool to detect Bangladeshi immigrants by analyzing how people speak Bengali.
Experts say this tool is flawed because Bengali spoken in India and Bangladesh is very similar, and the tool might wrongly target innocent people.
They worry it could be used to harass Bengali-speaking workers and migrants.
The tool is still being developed and is not yet accurate enough to use.
Many people are afraid they might be wrongly accused and deported.
Maharashtra is developing an AI tool to detect Bangladeshi immigrants using speech patterns.
Experts argue that Bengali dialects in India and Bangladesh are too similar for accurate detection.
The tool is currently at 60% accuracy and will take six months to deploy.
Concerns raised about potential misuse leading to harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants.
IIT Bombay and the Maharashtra IT Department are involved in the project, but details are scarce.
- Who
- Maharashtra government, IIT Bombay, Bengali-speaking migrants
- What
- Development of an AI tool to detect Bangladeshi immigrants based on speech patterns
- When
- Project in development, expected deployment in six months
- Where
- Maharashtra, India
- Why
- To identify and potentially deport illegal immigrants from Bangladesh
- Project Lead
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
- Institutions Involved
- Maharashtra IT Department, IIT Bombay
- Tool Purpose
- Detect Bangladeshi immigrants via speech patterns
- Current Accuracy
- 60%
- Expected Deployment
- Six months from now
- Expert Concerns
- Potential for misuse and harassment of Bengali speakers
- Data Source
- Not disclosed by IIT-Bombay team
- Regions Affected
- West Bengal, North East India
